PARIS --- Seeking major concessions from prime contractor Airbus Military, Britain yesterday vetoed a French-German proposal to extend ongoing talks on the A400M military transport aircraft until the end of the year.

Instead, defense ministers of the seven partner nations (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey and UK) agreed to meet again in Paris in late July to decide and how, to take the program forward

June 26 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. signaled it’s reluctant to pay for cost overruns on the A400M military transport plane, saying talks with the European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co. and other nations are in a “difficult” stage.

“This situation is very difficult and we want to be co- operative” with EADS, junior defense minister Quentin Davies, who has responsibility for equipment procurement, said in an interview in London. “But that absolutely cannot be at the expense of our armed forces and the British taxpayer.”

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French plan aims to win UK support for A400M-source

PARIS, June 24 (Reuters) - France has made a new proposal to win UK support for the delayed Airbus (EAD.PA) A400M military transporter, a French government source said on Wednesday.

"France has made a proposal to its European partners which should allow us to meet British demands," the source told Reuters.

"We have to succeed in saving the A400M," the source added, declining to give details about the proposal.

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June 23 (Bloomberg) -- The V-22 Osprey’s performance during its 19 months in Iraq was substandard and the Pentagon should review whether the aircraft’s cost and reliability merit continuing the program, according to congressional auditors.

The tilt-rotor plane’s components wear out too soon, making it too costly to maintain and grounded too much of the time, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said.

The Defense Department has spent $28 billion on the aircraft developed and built by Textron Inc. and Boeing Co. and has bought 206 planes to date. It plans to spend $25 billion more on upgrades and the purchase of the remaining 252 planes in the 458-aircraft program for the Marine Corps and Air Force Special Operations Command.

Given the “significant funding needs” to complete the program, “now is a good time to consider the return on this investment as well as other, less costly alternatives that can fill the current requirement,” the watchdog agency said.
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Adding to problems outlined by GAO, V-22 costs have risen sharply above initial projections. In 1996, the plan was to build nearly 1,000 of them in 10 years at $37.7 million each. Now, the plan is for fewer than 500 at $93.4 million apiece -- a procurement unit cost jump of 148 percent, GAO said.
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